It's hard to believe that Nicki Minaj once needed an entire room to house her rainbow wig collection. Over the past year, since splitting with her longtime wig-man Terrence Davidson, her crazier styles have been stowed away in favor of what the rap superstar has called a "softer" look. We've gotten glimpses of that look on recent red carpets (Minaj was easily the best dressed at last week's MTV Movie Awards) as well as on Minaj's Instagram account, where she's #blessed fans by sharing gorgeous, toned-down-Nicki selfies.

It's a blatant transformation that may also signal a sonic shift back to Onika from the block for her upcoming third solo album, The Pink Print, which, according to Minaj's Twitter, could be released while you're blinking. In the meantime, Cosmopolitan.com spoke to her current hairstylist, Oscar James, about Minaj's reinvention and why we can keep expecting "less, less, less" from this one-time over-the-top artist.

Can you give fans an idea of where Nicki Minaj is headed, style-wise? What have your conversations with her been like?
I started working with her early last year — the reason she reached out to me is because Tyra Banks had given her my number. She wanted a more toned-down look, and I think that's why she reached out to Tyra. So I created that wavy, super-blonde hair with the dark roots — the wig. I created that to take her in a little more natural direction but still bold because she's always been known for a little edge. But now she's wearing her real hair. So I just follow her lead. When she would ask me, "Well, what do you think I should do?" I usually bring things that are a little more stylized because I feel like that's who she is, but, surprising even to me, she's been leaning toward even more natural. She wants to do less. Just less, less, less. And we talked about maybe changing the color a little and she was adventurous at the MTV Movie Awards, where we added a few extensions just to give it a little more pop. I didn't think she would but once I did it, she loved it.

Did she give any reason for wanting to tone down her look?
She just told me that she wanted to tone down a little. Maybe she's trying to reach a broader audience, I don't know. But I'm taken aback even myself because she's so pretty.

That's what fans have been saying — her taking all the makeup off, she's really gorgeous.Yeah, you can really see her features. I'm just so honored to be part of this journey and I'm so happy that she chose me. She's so beautiful. I didn't know all that was underneath is what I'm trying to say.

Were there any particular style inspirations or hair influences you pulled from?
I know she's a huge fan of Marilyn Monroe; I don't know if it's a hair inspiration. When we're doing things, I pull pictures from everywhere. What I really wanted for her for the MTV Movie Awards was a Dita Von Teese look, but that was a little too dressy. She wanted something a little more natural. And I think it's maybe because it was the movie awards, she wanted to be more toned-down, more natural. We did a video recently for a song she has out called "Senile." My inspiration for that was Sophia Loren, a little Amy Winehouse, but even then she wanted to tone down. She was like, "I just want to be softer." And she's really adamant about softer and more natural.

Do you prefer the natural or the wigged out look?
For me, I prefer wigs. I can style them. I can put stuff on before I go. And then I can do whatever I want to. I can put more heat. I can put more color. Whereas with natural hair, you have to be a lot more careful and mindful. That's a concern for me with Nicki wearing her natural hair almost everyday: It's a lot of wear and tear on the hair. I'm trying to gradually get her back into wigs, but she's adamant now. She doesn't want it.